New-Age Banking for High-Tech Cities

Cashless and technology-driven payment solutions will play a major role in the smart cities, V Swaminathan, Senior Executive Vice President, Kotak Mahindra Bank, tells Manish Arora of Elets News Network (ENN). In an interaction, he also talks about the Bank’s various offerings in Goa

What are your offerings in the State of Goa? The Kotak Mahindra Bank offers both traditional banking and digital banking services to government departments, local bodies and autonomous bodies in Goa, which helps various government departments implement e-Governance projects efficiently.
Kotak Mahindra Bank’s main focus is on digital banking (particularly digital payments and receipts), as these will further help in optimising the resources spent on cash management and logistics, like municipal tax collections, traffic fines, utility payments and transfer of subsidies.
These are just some of the examples where mandatory digital platform will prevent leakages and thereby help departments to introduce eGovernance smoothly. We also facilitate data management for autonomous bodies through a dedicated module and ensure that all the relevant information is available in a real time basis.

V Swaminathan Senior Executive Vice President, Kotak Mahindra Bank

As Panaji features in the second smart cities list of the Government of India, what all the Bank would offer to the new-age city setup? One of the critical features of smart cities is cashless and technology-driven payment solutions, which we are already offering. Our Bank stands committed to offer world-class banking solutions. We offer a variety of technology-driven products in a seamless manner with anytime, anywhere banking facility.

“One of the critical features of smart cities is cashless and technology-driven payment solutions, which we are already offering. The Kotak Mahindra Bank stands committed to offer world-class banking solutions. We offer a variety of technologydriven products in a seamless manner with anytime, anywhere banking facility”

As Panaji features in the second smart cities list of the Government of India, what all the Bank would offer to the new-age city setup? One of the critical features of smart cities is cashless and technology-driven payment solutions, which we are already offering. Our Bank stands committed to offer world-class banking solutions. We offer a variety of technology-driven products in a seamless manner with anytime, anywhere banking facility.

mGovernance is an important element in the Digital India scheme of things. Please share about some of your mGovernance offerings. Mobile phone has become a crucial banking channel today, given its high penetration across the country. Many customers prefer using mobile apps for banking-related needs, which offer customers all services in just a few clicks, that too with the luxury of doing it from anytime and anywhere. We are working with many local bodies across the country to help them provide all municipal services-related banking transactions via mobile apps. This will enable the civic bodies to engage with citizens in a more meaningful and productive way.

How do you make your services more user-friendly? Most important requirement to make services user-friendly is to have more contact points, and smart banking primarily means more contact points with their banks than ever before. It’s an ability to offer a customised experience, finely tailored to suit the requirements of individuals, corporate, government bodies and various institutions.
It also means integrating technology with every aspect of business to offer client satisfaction, drive operational efficiencies and create new business opportunities.
Going one step further, we also offer Basic Savings Bank Deposit accounts, through which banks are trying to reach out to every citizen of the state, particularly EWS, who can now avail of facilities like ATM card, phone banking, cheque book, etc., free of cost and that too without any requirement of minimum balance in their account. Moreover, citizens who are using smart phones can avail of mobile banking and all other internet-related features frequently with the help of free Wi-Fi zones.
To provide mobile banking services to customers in the remotest areas, we offer a mobile banking app by the name of “Kotak Bharat Banking”, which requires no Internet connectivity. The inclusive digital banking app is primarily targeted to benefit customers in the underbanked and un-banked regions, who can access its services in their preferred language.

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The eGov magazine enjoys the distinction of being Asia’s first magazine on e-Governance. Founded in 2005, the monthly magazine is published in both print and online formats, and is focussed exclusively on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for bringing efficiency, accountability and transparency to various citizen and business related initiatives of the government.